Film

Winter In America

2006 · 4m

Winter in America is a stop-motion animation video that recreates the events leading up to the robbing and murder of Hank Willis Thomas’s cousin, Songha, in February 2000 outside a club in Philadelphia. Basing the narrative on eye-witness accounts, the artists use G.I. Joe action figures, similar to those they played with during childhood, to tell the story. The video examines a culture in which young boys are encouraged to act out such violent scenarios before they can even read. More generally, it is critical of America’s unquenchable thirst for material goods.

• Hank Willis ThomasDirector
• Kambui OlujimiDirector

Release date

January 1, 2006

Status

Released

Original language

English

Runtime

4m